The present invention relates to systems and methods for displaying the topology of a network, such as a storage area network (SAN), and more particularly to systems and methods for simplifying the display of complex network connections by partially overlapping displayed connection segments in a network topology display.
One goal of graph drawing theory, and the implementations of that theory to display network topologies on computer screens, is to avoid any overlap of connections between nodes on the display. This seems to avoid the ambiguous nature of overlapping, or partially overlapping, connections, and works well for simple network topologies. However, such a display becomes very confusing for large topologies: the user is presented with a complex web of tangled connections. Above a certain level of network complexity, it becomes difficult for the user to make much sense of the display and to determine which nodes are connected.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for simpifying a network topology display to allow the user to easily identify and determine which nodes are connected.
The present invention provides systems and methods for displaying the connections of a network topology in a simplified manner so as to avoid the web of tangled connections that other methods would display. In addition, the user is provided with means to easily identify and determine the connections between network nodes.
According to an aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method is provided for simplifying a network topology display having multiple connections between network nodes. The method typically comprises displaying a node representing a component in a network, said node having two connections to two other nodes in the network, and displaying first and second connection paths, each representing one of the two connections with the two other nodes, wherein the first connection path includes first and second orthogonal segments and a curved segment joining the first and second segments in a continuous manner, and wherein the first segment overlaps with a portion of the second connection path.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer-implemented method is provided for simplifying a network topology display having multiple connections between network nodes. The method typically comprises displaying a node representing a component in a network, said node having two connections to two other nodes in the network, displaying first and second connection paths, each representing one of the two connections with the two other nodes, wherein portions of the first and second connection paths overlap, and highlighting the first connection path in response to a user selection of the first connection path.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a computer-implemented method is provided for simplifying a network topology display having multiple connections between network nodes. The method typically comprises displaying a node representing a component in a network, said node having two or more connections to two or more other nodes in the network, displaying two or more connection paths, each representing one of the connections with the other nodes, wherein portions of a first displayed connection path overlaps with a portion of a second displayed connection path, and highlighting the displayed connection paths for all connections to the displayed node in response to a user indication.
Reference to the remaining portions of the specification, including the drawings and claims, will realize other features and advantages of the present invention. Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with respect to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.